


The Gateway Alchemist

by thelionheartqueen



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: F/M, Next Generation, The children get up to shenanigans, full disclosure this used to be on ffn, the adults are done with everything, we had domestic bliss until these meddling kids came and ruined it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24527536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelionheartqueen/pseuds/thelionheartqueen
Summary: Edward's daughter is determined to experience the world, make a difference, and learn the secrets of alchemy in order to follow in her father's footsteps, even if that involves dragging her brother, her cousins, and anyone else she meets along the way into her shenanigans.In a quest to learn the truth of...Truth, she plunges her family into a country-wide chase!
Relationships: Edward Elric/Winry Rockbell, Mei Chan | May Chang/Alphonse Elric, Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang
Comments: 9
Kudos: 15





	1. Elizabeth Elric

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure, I used to post this story on FFN under the name MyHikari back in the day. In quarantine, I decided to rewatch FMAB, fell in love with it again, and re-read this old fanfic. Some parts were a little cringe, and I don't exactly remember where exactly I was going with it, but I thought it mostly held up and decided to give it another shot!
> 
> I think this story is funny with about 5 years hindsight, for a few reasons. Partly because Elizabeth is 15 and making decisions with all the good-intentioned wisdom of...a teen. I also think the names are funny, specifically Elizabeth (since it was Riza's cover name).
> 
> If I remember correctly I had envisioned a grand epic in my head, but tbh I don't even think I had anything truly planned out, haha.

_Resembool, Eastern Sector, Amestris, 1925_

Young Elizabeth Elric poked her head into her father’s study. He was hard at work with a pile of books and a piece of paper, drawing something that looked like a circle. She knew her father and uncle would often discuss strange things together excitedly, but they never did explain much of what it was. There was a name for it too…

_Al...alka...alchemy!_

“Daddy?” she asked quietly from the doorway, expecting him to scold her for being out of bed. He turned to see her, but instead of frowning, he smiled.

“Hey, munchkin. Whatcha doing out of bed, huh?”

“I was gonna go potty. What’re you doing?” She tilted her head like a curious puppy, and he chuckled a bit at that.

“I’m doing some work, I gotta presentation coming up soon,” he explained, holding his arm out for her to come closer. She approached, looking at his papers. There were other shapes inside the circles. And weird writing on it.

“I thought only Mommy worked?” Her father did look a little irritated at that, but didn’t yell.

“I work too, sometimes. I do research and share my findings with other alchemists. And I built this house with my bare hands! ….mostly.”

“Daddy, what‘s this weird circle?” Elizabeth had seen these things drawn before, but she didn’t know anything about them. Once, she asked her brother, but he was busy trying to read some book and didn’t really acknowledge her. He became pretty entranced in whatever he was doing.

“It’s a transmutation circle.” He traced his fingers around it. “Alchemy is a science, and to harness the energy inside the earth, alchemists draw these circles to make or change something.”

“Like magic!”

“Haha, no. There’s a rule in alchemy, it's called the Law of Equivalent Exchange.”

She tried to figure out how to say that big word. “Equi..lent ‘Schange?”

“It means that everything comes from something. We can’t just make something out of nothing,” he said, setting her on his lap. “I’m not sure it’s totally true though.”

“Why?” That was her favorite question. She was a very inquisitive child.

“I think maybe we should give more than we take. It’ll spread around, positively.”

“I..I don’t underst-” she tried, unable to fully comprehend what he meant. He ruffled her hair fondly.

“That’s ok, munchkin. You will one day.” He snuggled her a bit closer to him, before speaking very quietly. “The people around you, who take care of you, your friends, they’re all a part of something bigger. Everything in the world is one big connected system, and we’re just one tiny part in it. One is all, and all is one. As part of this system, the more we give, the more it spreads to everything else.”

Elizabeth was a bright child, but she still felt as if her Daddy was telling her something important that she didn’t quite understand. She wanted to though. She bet she would if she didn’t feel so sleepy all of a sudden…

Edward Elric looked at the sleepy child in his arms, smiling fondly as she drifted off. She had been trying so hard to pay attention, and he could tell she was quite puzzled by everything he said. Knowing her, she’d relentlessly question him about it all in the morning. Is this what his own mother had to put up with?

“I was wondering where she’d run off to,” Winry’s voice said from behind him. “I heard her get up.”

“We should probably get her back to bed, huh?” he asked, standing up and moving towards his wife. She smiled tenderly, caressing the little girl’s face. “She looks more and more like you with every passing day,” Ed added, basking in the domestic tranquility of the moment. What a difference the years had made.

“And her brother looks more like you with every passing day,” Winry replied, scooping the child into her own arms. “But he’s way better behaved than you ever were.”

Ed crossed his arms in a huff. “Believe me, I’ve accepted the troublemaker is this one right here. A chip off the old block.”

“Let’s hope not,” Winry giggled, turning towards the door. “One of you is more than enough.” She walked out the study, still giggling at him. He was a little grumpy about it, but he snorted in amusement after a moment or two. Winry wasn’t entirely wrong. If the kids were to take after him, they would surely raise hell.

* * *

_10 years later..._

"That was a perfect transmutation, Elizabeth," Alphonse Elric spoke with pride, looking on at his 15 year old niece. Living half of each year in Amestris, whenever Al was around he would instruct his niece and nephew in the physical aspects of alchemy, as they could only learn theoretically from their father.

"Of course it was, Uncle Al, I am my father's daughter after all!" the girl replied, grinning up cheekily at him, who merely rolled his eyes. Elizabeth Elric certainly inherited her mother's looks, but she was a bit of a spitfire. The girl was nigh insatiable for alchemy knowledge, known for talking off the ears of anyone kind enough to listen to her theories, current ponderings and her long list of topics she wanted to know more about. Alphonse couldn't help but be reminded of his brother at her age.

"Don't be getting a big head there now, your dad may have been an alchemy genius back in the day, but even if he got his alchemy back right now I could still kick his butt!" the older Elric bragged, as he clapped his hands together and cleaned up the yard from all the transmutations they had worked on. Frankly, Al was pretty well known as a genius in his own right by this point.

"I wish I could transmute without a circle," Elizabeth pouted, looking on at her uncle enviously. While she understood the importance of the circle, it certainly felt like she could do more if she didn’t have to draw one every time. Alphonse gave her a grim look. He held some concerns about her interest in such a thing, but he knew that Ed wasn’t exactly shy about pounding the brothers’ cautionary tale into the children’s heads.

"El, Al, Winry's putting dinner on the table," Edward called out from the front door of the house. When Ed and Winry had first gotten married, they built their home where the old Elric house was, and later a small cottage right next to it for Al and Mei's family, who lived there when they weren't in Xing.

"Great! I'm starving!" Elizabeth exclaimed, rushing into the house, her blonde braid flying behind her. Al smiled at his older brother.

"I know I say this a lot, but she takes after you quite a bit."

"Yeah, I know. But don't think that I didn’t hear you trash talking about my fighting skills!" Ed said, giving his brother an elbow jab before entering the house with a pout.

The two brothers went and sat at a large and bustling dinner table where all their children were already seated. Edward and Winry had a 17 year old son, Wesley, in addition to Elizabeth, while Al and Mei had 11 year old identical twins, Jade and Opal, and a 6 year old son, Henry.

"And then Mom sent the guy out for complaining about having to work with me instead of her, it was awesome!" Wes said, plopping a large dollop of potato onto his plate. While the boy certainly enjoyed learning about alchemy like his sister did, he also spent quite a bit of time learning about automail at his mother’s elbow. Alkahestry’s medical applications and their possible use in automail installations were a subject of great fascination to him.

"You should’ve thrown the wrench at him," Elizabeth chortled, taking a sip of milk, which she did not hate, unlike her father and brother.

"I think the guy would've gotten instant tetanus," the boy replied, referring to Winry's very first wrench, kept around mostly for nostalgic value. For whatever reason growing up, all of the children found the fact that Winry used to throw this wrench to be hilarious, and the twins had even named it Rusty. However, nobody wanted to be on the receiving end of it themselves.

"You can still see bloodstains from when she hit Uncle Ed," their cousin Jade murmured, exchanging a fearful glance with Opal.

"Ahh, trusty Rusty." Wes sighed nostalgically, as the adults gave him a weird look.

"Wes, El, when your Aunt and Uncle leave for Xing in a few days, we'll be heading to Rush Valley. Garfiel called, and he's got orders coming in left and right, so he wants me to help out for a couple weeks." Winry said, finished serving and sitting in front of her own plate. "He's getting older and he doesn't think he can handle the rush even with Paninya trying to help out."

"Oh! I could finally get that tool set I've been saving up for," Wes said excitedly. The boy’s hands were almost always in motion, tinkering, doing experiments, reading a book. Sometimes all at once. El thought he was a bit of a geek, even compared to herself.

"Aww, Rush Valley, but it's all desert and automail," Elizabeth whined quietly. Her dad overheard her and they shared a private smirk together.

"Tell me about it."

"Actually, Winry, Mei and I were thinking, if Wesley and Elizabeth wanted to come with us to Xing and then come back here when you return from Rush Valley, then that would be a nice little adventure for them," Al said, exchanging an excited look with his wife.

"Xing? I'm not sure..." Winry said, looking at her children with a concerned expression. The kids had never traveled without their parents before, let alone to anywhere so far away.

"It'd only be until you're back from Rush Valley. A vacation, basically," Mei offered as she cut up young Henry's meat for him.

Winry remained silent, pondering their offer in her head. Elizabeth and her brother exchanged a hopeful look. "I think they should go, Win. Elizabeth would certainly be more entertained in Xing than in Rush Valley, and Wes is old enough," Ed said, breaking the silence. “We definitely traveled around much earlier than they did.” His wife sighed, but acknowledged his point.

"Well, I suppose you’re right. But, kids, be good for your Aunt and Uncle, or else!" Winry said, smiling dangerously. Wesley and Elizabeth both gulped, but Jade and Opal high-fived, clearly excited for their cousins to see their other home.

"I'm so excited, we'll get to play with Wesley's hair all the time!" Opal babbled, causing Wes to blush. Just like his dad, he had long hair, and was usually distracted enough to not notice if it was getting played with.

"And there's so many ancient boring things you like so much, Elizabeth, especially in Uncle Ling's giant library!" Jade exclaimed, matching her twin's fervor and then some.

"You little pests wouldn't know what's interesting if it smacked your faces," Elizabeth growled quietly, so none of the adults would hear. She was often scolded for thinking the girls annoying. Wes shot her a disapproving glare.

"We could take you to meet the emperor," Mei said, smiling at her niece and nephew.

"Oh, Ling? What's he been up to?" Edward questioned, not having seen him for quite some time. Maybe not even since Al and Mei’s wedding.

"He's been setting up an alkahestry university, actually. He's offered for Alphonse and I to teach there. We're still considering it."

"Has he grown fat in his middle age yet?" Ed asked randomly, even though he was shoveling his own dinner down pretty fast.

"Now that you mention it, no," Al pondered. “And he and Lan Fan have a bunch of kids, and they all eat like he does. Maybe their training regime is that good?”

"It's a wonder he and his family don't eat most of Xing's crops."

"That big an appetite?" Wes asked, as neither he nor Elizabeth had ever met him, despite hearing a story or two here and there, usually one about eating a shoe in the stomach of a homunculus.

Alphonse chuckled. "When he was a prince, he had a habit of pretending to be collapsed and having people buy him food."

"Not a normal amount either, he stuck me with huge room service bills! Luckily, State Alchemists make bank, so at the time it wasn't an issue, but it was still annoying as hell," Ed grumbled.

"Being a State Alchemist must've been super cool," Elizabeth said, mostly to herself. "I'd love to be one someday."

The Elric brothers exchanged a worrying glance, and Winry's hand tightened on her fork. "Not really, El. Back in those days, State Alchemists were basically human weapons. I only joined so I could research ways to get Al's body back from beyond the Gate, and I got off pretty lucky because the bastard colonel mostly let me do just that."

"Edward, he's not a colonel anymore, he's the Fuhrer," Winry reminded. Ed rolled his eyes dramatically, before muttering something about still owing the man some money.

"Hold on a second, you know Fuhrer Mustang?" Opal asked, her gold eyes wide as she looked between her father and uncle.

"Don't you listen when they tell stories? It's not like that's a secret," Elizabeth said, taking a bite of potato.

"El, they're only 11," Wes admonished, as the twins gave a wary glare to their girl cousin and started speaking rapidly in Xingese to each other.

"I hate it when they do that, it's like they're mocking me," Elizabeth grumbled to her brother. "It's even worse when they try to confuse me by pretending to be each other."

"Maybe you should learn to tell them apart, like everyone else?" Wes teased, earning a harsh tug on his ponytail. "Ow, Elizabeth, that hurt!"

Winry stood, collecting dishes from their meal. "That's enough bickering, you two."

The two quieted, but when their mother's back was turned, Ed whispered "She's one to talk," causing the pair to erupt into giggles.

"What was that, Ed?!" Winry asked, glaring over her shoulder.

"Nothing, Win!"

* * *

Later on that night, Wesley knocked on the door to his sister's room, and opened it to see her in pajamas with her hair down, reading an alchemy book. "You really shouldn't be so mean to Jade and Opal," he said, plopping down in her desk chair.

"It isn't my fault they're annoying," she replied, dog-earing the page she was reading and closing the book. “Henry isn’t annoying, he’s a sweet little boy. They should take pointers from him.”

"They're worried you hate them."

"I don't hate them, Wes, they just do little annoying cousin things that irritate me."

"Are you sure you aren't just jealous they like me better?" Wes gloated, a face not unlike the one their dad would get when he told stories of his adventures. "Just try being nicer to them while we're in Xing, maybe they'll stop playing pranks on you."

Elizabeth turned away from her brother, and reached under her bed, pulling out a map and travel guide she'd found in her dad's old briefcase. "Yeah, about that... We aren't going to Xing."

Wes looked at her blankly, his gold eyebrows knitting together. “What hare-brained scheme are you going to try to drag me into this time?”

"Instead," she continued brightly, "We're going to Central!"

"...and however do you plan to pull that off?" he groaned, knowing this would spell their doom.

"Easy peasy, to get to Xing by railway we have to stop in East City first, but when we get there we'll escape from Uncle Al and Aunt Mei and hop a train to Central. And from there we can find a way to research transmutation without a circle and once I figure it out, I can become a State Alchemist just like Dad!"

"El, you know as well as I do that only people who've performed human transmutation can use alchemy without a circle, and I'm sure as hell not letting you do that!" Wes said, standing up and looking down at her, a severe look on his face. "Don't be such an idiot! In Xing you could do all the research you want without getting in any trouble, and if you wanted to go to Central so bad, you could go with Dad when he has to give one of his 'take ten, give eleven' speeches."

"You don't understand, Wes," Elizabeth said, looking down at the map and travel guide. "In Xing, they're more concerned with medical applications of alkahestry, trying to find appropriate research would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Besides, who knows how long it would be before I have another chance to travel?"

"Uncle Al and Aunt Mei are being very nice, offering to take us to Xing with them! I can't believe you want to betray their trust like that!" Wes continued to look down at her, and she lifted her head to meet his stern gaze.

"I want to find a way to see what's in the Gate without performing a human transmutation. I've asked Dad and Uncle Al but they won't tell me anything about it. I figure it'll be easier to apologize than to convince them to let me go to Central."

"El, why is it so important you do this now? What's wrong with waiting until you're old enough to go on your own?" he whispered, a little frightened for her. “You’re only 15.”

"I want to give back eleven."

"Godammit, you have got to be kidding me!"

Elizabeth stood, and began to pace around her bedroom. "No, I'm serious. I feel like there’s things I still don’t understand yet. We've had such a good and sheltered life here in Resembool, while there's people out in the world who haven't. I feel like I could help them if I could be like Dad was. Except, I don't have the ability to transmute without a circle, which is why he got to be a State Alchemist so young in the first place. At my age, he was traveling all over the place helping people."

"People like Dad and Uncle and Grandma Izumi think of that ability as a mark of their sins. They shouldn't have even survived their attempts at human transmutation. Besides, there are lots of ways to help people without alchemy, you know."

"But if I didn't do a human transmutation, then there would be no stigma attached,” El explained simply, looking out her bedroom window towards the moon. “I’m not like you, Wes. Alchemy is the only thing I’m good at. Without it, I’m pretty useless.”

"That’s just blatantly false. Dad can’t even do alchemy and he’s made a career of it," Wes remarked with a frown. "This just feels like a bad idea, like the beginning of a cautionary tale. I feel like you're going to make some horrible mistake!"

"You can't stop me," she spoke defiantly, daring him to go against her. “I’m tired of sitting around, I’m young but I want to do something with my life and make a difference.”

"I know, you stubborn idiot, and even though I would be much happier in Xing or Rush Valley, I'm coming too. But if I think it's too dangerous, I'll haul your ass home and make you give it up!" he said, before leaving the room so she couldn't have the last word. However, she smiled, knowing this would be his reaction.

"Thank you, brother.”


	2. Escape to Central

The morning the family was set to take off their separate ways, Wesley and Elizabeth stayed rather quiet all through breakfast. While the twins prattled on and on about everything that they wanted to show their cousins, and the adults spoke about boring things like arrival times and layovers, the two teens found themselves feeling a bit guilty.

El patted the family dog, Den 2, as she mindlessly ate some toast. Her mother noticed her expression, and smiled.

“What’s wrong, El? Nervous?”

The girl in question froze up slightly, blinking as she tried to come up with a good lie. “Uh, no. Just thinking about whatever is left to pack is all.”

Winry looked at her incredulously. “You haven’t finished packing? I told you to do that last night! The train leaves in an hour, you better hurry!”

Wes took pity on the poor girl’s soul. “She couldn’t decide which books to bring, and didn’t want to pack too many.” Elizabeth shot him a grateful glance. It wasn’t even a lie, she had been agonizing about it to him the night before.

“Oh, well you don’t have a lot of time to decide,” Winry responded, looking at the kitchen clock, before sighing. “You know, I’m going to miss you guys. I don’t think I’ve ever been away from you for so long.”

El’s stomach turned at that. She was going to miss her mother too. And certainly the pain of upsetting her mother was going to be tough to swallow. Her fists curled under the table. All for the greater good, right? Giving 11? “I’m going to miss you too, Mom.”

Winry ran a tender hand through Elizabeth’s still unbound hair. “No need to look so nervous, you should be excited to take a trip without your parents. Especially somewhere new and exciting, like Xing.” The woman stood then, grabbing a leash for the dog. “I’m going to take the dog to the neighbor’s. Why don’t you make a final decision on those books of yours, huh? We’re leaving as soon as I get back.”

Wes and El exchanged a nervous glance. This was certainly going to be a tough day.

The scheming siblings sat on a bench in the Resembool train station, watching as their parents bid their aunt, uncle and cousins goodbye. Their nerves were kicking into overdrive, and Elizabeth nervously fiddled with the tail of her long braid. Her brother wasn’t much better. Winry turned to the pair, easily flustering them again in their anxious state. They shivered at the thought of how much trouble they would be in once they came home.

"You have fun now, and be good for your Aunt and Uncle. I'll see you guys in a couple weeks, call me when you get to Xing, ok? I'll be in Rush Valley quicker than you guys'll cross the desert."

"Sure mom," Wes said, hugging her, but shooting his sister a dirty look over their mother's shoulder. Edward approached his wife and children, setting a hand on Elizabeth's shoulder.

"Stay out of trouble, guys. I know it'll be exciting since you haven't been there since you were babies, but don't drive them crazy, please." He thought about it for a second. “Actually, on second thought, give Ling all the trouble you want.”

Elizabeth stood and hugged her father unexpectedly tightly. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

Ed hugged her back, patting her head softly. "Hey, it's only a few weeks. When I was your age I was gone from home all the time."

Winry stepped forward and took her turn hugging Elizabeth, as Wes and Ed said their goodbyes. "Keep an eye on your sister, Wes."

Rolling his eyes, the Edward lookalike nodded. "I'll certainly try to. You know how she gets." El stuck her tongue out at him, trying not to alert their parents to their suspicious behavior.

"You two ready?" Alphonse called, holding his son Henry's hand. The young boy looked just like his dad, but with his mother’s eyes and dark brown hair. Elizabeth remembered when he had been born and her uncle and father had marveled that it was the same color their mother, Trisha, had.

The two teens nodded, grabbed their bags and said a final goodbye to their parents before stepping on a train to East City. Al and Mei led their party to a pair of booths facing each other, where the 7 could fit comfortably provided Henry sat on somebody's lap.

Elizabeth looked to Jade, who sat between her and her brother. The girl's intrusion meant she couldn't really discuss the escape plan with Wes, even though they had gone over it earlier that morning.

"Ellie, do you wanna play a game?" Jade asked, a mischievous glint in her gold eyes. Knowing that the little girl was baiting her, the older cousin tried to keep herself composed.

"Don't call me Ellie, Jade! We've been over this! I don't like nicknames!"

"Oh really, El?" Wes asked, deliberately using the only nickname she found remotely acceptable.

"Yes, Wessie." The saccharine sweetness of her reply made him roll his eyes.

At the bickering, Al started to chuckle. "You know, that sorta reminds me of when your dad would get called short. Of course, I was much taller and good looking-"

"You were a suit of armor, Alphonse," Mei said with exasperation, though Henry, seated on her lap, giggled very loudly at this.

"-So everyone thought that I was the Fullmetal Alchemist instead of him."

His niece started to pout a little, before he realized that she was only 5'1" at 15 years of age. Wesley was a much more reasonable size, a couple inches taller than his father had been at 17.

"That's ok, Elizabeth, that means you can get a tall and handsome husband like your Uncle Alphonse," Mei said, winking in a conspiratorial fashion. “Oh, and a perfect gentleman too. How did I get so lucky?”

"Mei, stop.." her husband muttered, looking very embarrassed and hiding his face while his wife smiled at him dreamily.

“So modest, Alphonse.”

Wes scooted in his seat and closed his eyes, fearing his aunt and uncle’s overwhelming mushiness. They kinda had a reputation for being like newlyweds even after so much time. His parents, on the other hand, bickered and teased constantly. "Ok then, wake me up when we're in East City."

"I don't get it, how can he sleep so easily on a train?" Opal asked, looking up at her parents a few moments later, Wesley already fast asleep and snoring lightly.

"Uncle Ed does that, he slept through a train getting hijacked once..."

Elizabeth tried to tune out like her brother had, but she was too nervous about everything and just tried to keep going over the plan in her head. Al and Mei were talking about an interesting book on alkahestry they’d been reading, the twins occasionally asking a question here and there, and she found herself listening in despite herself. Mei seemed to notice, and smiled at her.

“Have you been practicing sensing the Dragon’s Pulse?” her aunt asked her eagerly. She had attempted to show Elizabeth and Wesley how to do it a few times, but the girl would become easily frustrated when she couldn’t do it. Wesley seemed to have a better grasp on it than she did.

“Sometimes I try to,” El admitted. “But I have a hard time with it. I worry that I won’t ever be very good at alkahestry.”

“Well, you never know when it might come in handy.” Standing up to reach into one of the trunks sitting in the racks above their heads, Alphonse pulled out a book and handed it to her. “I used to have trouble with it too. Maybe try reading that on the journey? You might find Xing more conducive to practicing.”

“Th-thanks, Uncle Al.” She examined the book, and found it to thankfully be translated into Amestrian. Her Xingese was highly basic, and quite poor. Even Henry spoke it far better than she did. Flipping through it, she found different diagrams and charts on the basics. “Maybe you can help me with this more one day.”

“It won’t work unless you can sense the Dragon’s Pulse,” Jade giggled. “So you better figure that out first.” Elizabeth glared at her cousin, but refrained from saying anything, feeling another heavy wave of guilt. They would arrive in East City soon.

"Are you ready to go, Wes?" Elizabeth whispered, as the Elrics got off of the connecting train in East City Station and prepared to get on the one that would take them to Xing. The golden haired teen nodded, stepping onto the next train. He eyed the book in her hand.

“Whatcha got there, eh?” She grumbled at him, sliding the book into her bag. It joined a small stack of others.

Their plan involved boarding the train, before promptly getting off of it, to trick the adults into thinking they were lost somewhere on the train. They just needed excuses to be separated.

"Ah, go on ahead Uncle Al, Aunt Mei, I'm just gonna head to the bathroom and then catch up." Elizabeth said, pointing to a nearby bathroom. The two nodded, and continued on leading the group down the car. Slipping off of the train, she waited 5 minutes at their designated wait spot, before her brother found her.

"How did you get away, and with your bag to boot?" she asked, looking up to him.

"Told them I wanted to examine the engine room and talk shop with the conductors, then I muttered some names of tools, and then started asking technical questions about the engine and then they got confused and sent me away."

"I guess working with Mom can be useful sometimes," she said with a nod, getting up and pointing towards a train. "That's it right there, the train to Central. It’s supposed to leave in 20 minutes."

"Ok, let's go."

Jade and Opal sat looking out the window of their train compartment as all sorts of people walked by, catching trains and waiting for them. The trains that traveled long distances were better equipped for people to rest, thus Al and Mei decided to book one to accommodate their large traveling party.

"...maybe she's feeling sick?" they overheard Mei whisper to Al. "It's been 10 minutes now."

Jade turned to Opal and started to whisper quietly. "I think Wes and Elizabeth are escaping. I overheard Elizabeth ask Wesley if he was 'ready to go', earlier and it was really suspicious."

"I dunno, Jade, why would they want to escape?" Opal asked, before seeing a girl with a blonde braid and a boy with gold hair tied in a ponytail and gasping. "Is that them?"

"What's going on, girls?" Al asked, looking to the twins after hearing whispering and gasping. They exchanged a nervous glance, and tried to formulate a plan.

"Well, we're getting kind of worried about Elizabeth," Opal began, wondering if she should reveal what might be occurring under her parents' noses. She really didn’t care for anyone to get in trouble.

"And so we're going to go to the bathroom to check on her!" Jade said, cutting her sister off with a hidden elbow jab, before grabbing her arm and leading her out of their compartment. "Come on, Opal."

"Ok, if she needs anything just let us know," Mei called, stroking Xiao Mei on her lap.

Heading down the corridor, Jade led the way to the bathroom, Opal following closely behind. "Jade! What are we doing?"

"We're going to follow Wes and Elizabeth, obviously. We can't let them get away! We need to bring them back before we all get in big trouble!"

Seeing that the bathroom was decidedly Elizabeth-free, they hopped off the train and started to look around. Seeing a flash of blonde entering a nearby train, Opal pointed and started running towards it.

“She's not getting away so easy," Jade muttered, as they got on the train, stalked down the car and tracked down the flash of blonde, lightly grabbing the woman's arm before realizing to their horror that it was not Elizabeth.

"Ah! Sorry, miss!"

Just as Opal started to grab her sister and turn back to get off, they felt the train begin to move. The girl’s face became white as a sheet. "Oh no! The train's leaving, Jade, what are we gonna do? Mom and Dad are waiting for us!"

Jade, however, remained calm. "It's ok, Opal. We'll just keep checking the train, and then if Elizabeth and Wes aren't here, then we'll call Mom and Dad from wherever we are. Maybe Uncle Ed can take us back to Xing? He's only in Rush Valley, and everyone knows he isn't crazy about that place."

Opal nodded and lowered her head, her dark hair hanging into her gold eyes. Her sister looked around the moving car, before tapping the shoulder of an old woman.

"Excuse me, ma'am, where are we headed to?"

The elderly woman smiled down at the identical girls. "Why, dear, we're on our way to Ishval."

Elizabeth looked out the train window proudly, on the train headed for Central. Her brother sighed wearily, his head against the window. She could see how guilty he felt, and she began to worry he might be mad at her. 

"I'm really sorry, Wes. Next time we see Uncle Al and Aunt Mei, I'll apologize, and to Mom and Dad too."

"Whatever. I just hope this is over and done with soon so we can go back home," Wes said dramatically, before rifling through his bag for a small mechanical toy he was building for Henry. It looked like one of Al and Mei's many cats, whom he was not fond of due to his cat allergy, but Henry adored. It was for that reason, and the fact that he had already made 2 or 3 of Xiao Mei that he was making it.

"Oh, relax, how long could it possibly take? We just need to do some research, that's it. It isn't like we'll be doing anything dangerous," Elizabeth replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, grabbing her dad's travel guide to do some reading up on Central.

“I hope you’re right, El. I hope you’re right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter used to have Mei making sex jokes about Alphonse. Haha...


	3. Separated

Alphonse felt the train start to move and shared a worried look with his wife. None of the kids were back in the compartment yet, and the journey to Xing was beginning.

"Alphonse, I'm worried. Do you think they got off the train?" Mei wrung her hands and placed Xiao Mei on Henry’s lap. “Should we get off?”

The alchemist shook his head, trying to clear his head of any suspicions. They were all good kids! "No, I doubt it. I'll go look for them, you stay here with Henry, ok?"

He proceeded to comb the entire train car, explore another one or two, check the engine room, ask around, and find that there was no sign of any of the kids anywhere. Worrying for Jade and Opal, he at least hoped they were with their cousins, before he realized something that made him start to panic.

Walking back to the compartment, he managed to whisper out his wife's name. She looked to him, saw how pale he was and felt her heart sink. “You couldn’t find them, could you?”

"Ed's gonna kill me," he choked out. "A-and Winry...she'll destroy what's left."

"We're getting off at the next stop!" Mei said, standing and taking control of the situation. "We'll call Edward and Winry, and then we'll try to figure out where they went. What if they were kidnapped?!"

Al shivered, remembering the sorts of riff raff he and Ed ran into as teenagers. Taking a few deep breaths, he tried to calm himself. "Hey, if we could survive as teenagers running around with all sorts of dangerous things going on, then I'm sure they can handle it, right? You crossed a desert." He didn’t sound terribly convincing, even to himself.

"You guys had the support of the military though, they're just four kids. We have no clue where they are. I'll call Ling, tell him we probably won't be able to come right away."

He nodded, lost in worry. Where could they have gone? Were they safe? How was he going to explain this to Ed and Winry? “Oh, they are in so much trouble!”

Elizabeth looked out excitedly at Central Station, waiting to get off the train. She practically oozed excitement, babbling on about her plans, and annoying Wesley.

"Do you have any idea where we're going, El?" he asked, as they got off the train, and walked around, taking in how large the city was.

"Ehh, well, not really. But I do know this train station is near the heart of the city, where all the important buildings are."

"So what was the plan, just walk around until you find the right building? Unbelievable!" He threw his hands in the air. “Where are we going to stay? What are we going to eat? You don’t plan very far ahead do you?”

"I was planning on asking for directions," she said, smirking. "And we’ll figure out the rest. We both have some pocket money.”

"Oh that's not suspicious at all, 'um excuse me, Mr. Military Officer Guy sir, can you tell me where the Fuhrer's house is?'" Wes spoke, imitating a girl's voice. “Besides, El, I wasn’t exactly saving all my money to use on your dead end quest here.”

The girl stopped, and looked up to her brother in frustration. "I know you aren't happy to be here, but I swear it's taken your snark up to 11!"

Wes sighed and pointed to a map of the city outside of the train station. "Let's take a look at that."

Getting an idea of where they were going, the two traveled into the heart of Central, happening upon one of the National libraries so crucial to Elizabeth's plans. The two paused at the entrance, watching those who were coming and going with interest from the sidewalk.

"Everyone here seems to have some kind of official clearance," Wesley whispered to his sister. “We would probably need to provide identification upon entrance.”

"That is a problem," she replied, brows furrowed in thought. “If only military personnel and State Alchemists are allowed inside, we could disguise you as Dad. Maybe he’s still got enough clout to get inside.” She removed two leaves from a nearby bush and drew a transmutation circle with a piece of chalk in her pocket. Elizabeth transmuted the leaves into a fake blonde mustache, before handing it to Wesley. 

"You want me to pretend to be Dad with a fake mustache? This isn't going to work, El," Wesley said, examining the fake facial hair with eyebrows raised. “He’s retired, they probably wouldn’t let him in unless he had permission from the Fuhrer.”

"We have to try! We didn't come this far and risk getting grounded forever just to not get in the library!" Elizabeth insisted. “Just say you’re the Fullmetal Alchemist in town to do research for your next speech!”

With a glare, Wesley put on the fake mustache and attempted to practice acting older than his age. "Hello," he spoke, taking on a blustery voice. "I'm Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist in town with my daughter. I would like to go do research for my next speech."

"Aren't you retired, sir?" Elizabeth asked with a wink, putting on her own silly hoity-toity city folk accent. She acted out straightening papers and put on a face of disinterest.

"Why yes I am, but my good friend Roy Mustang told me I could come do my work here!"

"Do you have a note from Fuhrer Mustang?"

"Well, no but-" Wesley began, scratching his head. He never had been a very good liar, in his sister’s opinion, and the fact that he had made it three sentences was impressive to her.

"Just say something like ‘You know how lazy Fuhrer Mustang can be, ma'am. Naps take precedence over notes,’" she coached with a snort. “Or actually, make it a bit more aggressive, you know how Da-”

"Did you just call the Fuhrer lazy?"

Elizabeth turned around and looked up to see a boy with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a school uniform of some sort. He looked somewhat familiar to her, but she had a hard time placing his face. She tried to be charming and chuckle. "Well, it's no secret the Fuhrer isn't terribly keen on paperwork."

"That's my father you're speaking of, and he is a great man! A hero!" the boy said, the apparent anger on his face startling the hell out of the siblings. Wes’ mouth fell open, and the fake mustache started to fall off.

“Reed,” Elizabeth choked out, pale as a sheet. “How long were you standing here, huh?”

"Long enough to hear you planned to impersonate the Fullmetal Alchemist to get into this library. Did you honestly think a harebrained plan like that would work, you dumbasses?!" Elizabeth and Wesley never spent much time with Reed Mustang, they’d met him a few times over the years, but he still maintained a skeptical edge to his words that Elizabeth found infuriating. “Where is your father, anyway?”

"He isn't here," Elizabeth spoke defiantly, crossing her arms in an attempt to look assured. "We're traveling by ourselves."

“What are you even doing here at a State Library?” Reed asked, crossing his own arms and looking them up and down. “I know it can’t possibly be anything good, right Liz? You’re usually the one who thinks up these dumb schemes.”

Wesley exasperatedly caught Elizabeth by the collar of her red cardigan, as she attempted to jump at the boy. "Don't call her Liz."

"Beth then?"

"No nicknames!" the girl shrieked. An elderly couple walking down the street looked in their direction in alarm.

Reed sighed with derision. "You know I have to take you to my Dad, now. If I have to get a military officer to escort you by force, I will."

"We'll cooperate. The cat’s outta the bag, anyhow," Wesley affirmed, prodding his sister along to follow. She glared at him a little, a pout still on her face.

He smirked a bit when he heard her whisper to herself, “I wanna punch him in his stupid face.”

Opal looked out sadly at the desert she and her twin found themselves in. Jade was talking to a ticket vendor, leaving her sister on the bench, still scared about being separated from her family. Jade approached the bench, looking a little nervous. "They can't give us tickets home."

"What are we going to do? They'll never know to look for us in Ishval, Jade!"

"Opal, we have to stay calm. We'll figure something out. Did you try calling Uncle Ed?"

Opal looked at her hands nervously, feeling more tears welling up. She had cried nearly the entire train ride here. "I remembered that the number was in my suitcase."

Jade nodded, trying to figure out their next course of action. "Maybe the Ishvalan leaders can help us?"

The two began to walk around, taking in the hustle and bustle of the city they were in. It was around sunset, and the girls were starting to feel hungry.

Finding an important looking building, Jade nudged Opal in the direction of a woman standing guard, talking to a group of children. "Let's ask her for help."

"Excuse me, Miss, we've gotten separated from our parents and are lost. We were hoping we could get some help," Jade said to the young Ishvalan lady when she seemed to notice their presence at the edge of the group of children. The woman tensed when she saw them, but seemed to relax after a second or two, smiling gently.

"Are your parents with you here in Ishval?" the older girl asked. She had typical Ishvalan looks about her, dark skin and red eyes, and her long white hair was pulled into a ponytail.

Opal shook her head. "We accidentally got on a wrong train. We're supposed to be in Xing."

"Hmm, well I myself can't help you, but Leader can. Let me take you to him, ok?" the young lady said, and motioned for them to follow her into the building. "My name is Amina, what about you guys?"

"Jade and Opal."

They followed the girl along several hallways before entering a room with a man sitting inside meditating. He was dressed in loose robes, but they had no sleeves, and the twins could see that he had very muscular, tattooed arms.

"Leader! I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need your help. These little girls have been separated from their parents and need help. They’re supposed to be in Xing," Amina said, speaking respectfully to the man. He opened his eyes from his meditation and peered at them, motioning for her to continue. “Their names are Jade and Opal…?”

“Elric,” Jade supplied with a tiny smile.

"Elric? As in Edward and Alphonse Elric?" The man asked, looking at the two girls. They didn't recognize the man, but he seemed to recognize them.

"Alphonse is our Dad," Opal sniffled, holding her sister's hand to calm herself.

"So he married the little princess of Xing then?"

The twins nodded, wondering how the man knew their parents.

"Your parents, they knew me back before the Promised Day. You've probably heard them refer to me as Scar," he said, pointing to an x shaped scar across his forehead.

"You're Scar?" Opal asked, exchanging a look with Jade. They did recognize that name, and had maybe even seen pictures too.

"Well, I've renounced that name actually, along with my birth name, but yes, technically I am Scar,” the man said, standing up from the mat. “Amina, how about we get them something to eat? It seems we’ll have to do some catching up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, Reed (another interesting name choice, haha) and the Elric children had never met. When I was rereading the original version, it was one of the things that struck me as not making much sense. Sure, they probably didn't spend a lot of time together, but to have never met once? Seems unlikely. Sheesh, what was I thinking?


	4. Meeting the Fuhrer

"Hey, Betty! Come this way!" the young man named Reed called, leading them down a hallway in Central's military headquarters. Amestris was now less militaristically inclined, but there was still a presence in order to ensure enemies would not attack the country in their complacent times.

"It's ELIZABETH," the girl practically screamed, drawing the attention of military personnel in the area. “I’ve told you this before!”

"El, calm down," Wes whispered, looking down at her disapprovingly, a silent reminder of where they were. Attracting attention was not in their best interests, she knew, but even as children, Reed had a special way of pushing her buttons.

"It's like he's intentionally getting my name wrong!" she whisper-hissed, defending herself.

"Yeah, because it gets you so worked up!"

The Fuhrer’s son stopped, turning back and eyeing them sharply. "You know I can hear you right, Betty?"

"I hope so, then you'll stop being so damn annoying!” Elizabeth spat at him, arms crossed. Her brother sighed dramatically at this, muttering under his breath about the whole situation.

A young woman approached them then and placed a hand on Reed’s shoulder. She seemed familiar to Elizabeth, with light brown hair pulled into a tight ponytail and green eyes. Instead of uniform pants, a skirt was worn with her jacket to show her civilian status.

"Reed, what's the commotion all about? You know your mother won't be pleased if someone complains about it."

"Ohh, Elicia, what are you doing down here? Don't you have papers to file or something?" Reed asked, clearly getting nervous by the woman's presence. She brushed her hair behind her indignantly, and hefted some books on her hip.

"Your father sent me to fetch some books for him from the records room. Why are you acting so suspicious, kiddo, is that your girlfriend over there?" Elicia replied, whispering the last part with a wink. The woman took a longer glance at the Elric siblings, before gasping in surprise. “Oh my goodness! The Elrics are here!” she practically squealed, shoving Reed aside and stepping in closer. She tightly embraced them both in a big hug. El and Wes exchanged looks of surprise as she pulled them close.

"Hey!" he huffed, displeased to be pushed back. "I caught these two idiots trying to intrude in one of the libraries and I'm bringing them to Dad! Stop hugging them!"

"Pish posh," the assistant to the Fuhrer replied, still squeezing the pair tightly. "They’re like family!”

"Happy to see you too, Elicia!" Elizabeth piped in, returning the hug enthusiastically and sticking her tongue out at Reed. She was starting to remember this girl, though it had been a few years since they’d last seen her and her mother Gracia. There were several pictures of her in their home.

"How are Edward and Winry? Are they here too?" Elicia asked excitedly, finally letting them go. "Oh my goodness, Elizabeth, you look so pretty, just like your mother!"

Reed rolled his eyes. Elicia Hughes was like a surrogate older sister to him, but she certainly had some excitable tendencies. "Can we see Dad or what, Elicia?"

"Oh! Yeah, sure!"

The woman then led the trio of teens through several corridors on the way to the office of the Fuhrer, chattering amiably all the while and asking a million questions. Elizabeth answered each one with a smug grin Reed’s way, but noticed Wesley fiddling with his fingers nervously as they approached the office. She touched his arm, giving a reassuring smile.

"Hey, Elicia. Got those books for the Fuhrer?" a dark haired young man asked, working at a desk in front of the office.

"Yep, also Reed has some friends he wants his dad to meet," she chirped, leaning against the desk conversationally.

"They're not my friends, Elicia!"

"Oh, whatever! You're so dramatic!" she retorted, pinching his cheek and looking back to the young man. "I'll come back out to talk to you in a minute, Selim. Lemme just drop these off first.”

Selim nodded happily and Elicia opened the door to the office with a smile, allowing the group to enter the large office. A sitting area seemed to be in place in front of the desk, and the Fuhrer himself was seated talking to his wife. A young girl wearing a matching uniform to Reed’s appeared to be doing some homework on the floor.

"So I asked when I was supposed to be called up for my turn, and he laughed and said “soon”, like he always does. It’s like he’s trying to intentionally be vague and mysterious.”

Wes and El exchanged a look at the nonchalant story, and heard Reed clear his throat. Elicia placed the stack of books down on the coffee table, patted the head of the young girl and stepped out of the office happily, never saying a single word.

"Dad, I caught these two trying to sneak into a National Library-”

"Fullmetal's children?" Roy asked, looking at the two blonde teenagers interestedly. “Are you here to cause trouble for me and your parents or something?” His wife, Riza, smirked, but watched them as intensely as ever. Elizabeth shuddered somewhat under the stare, one she realized Reed had inherited.

"Nice to meet you again, Fuhrer Mustang," Elizabeth said, putting her hand out for a handshake. Roy looked at her hand, before raising an eyebrow.

"Elric doesn't know you're here does he?" the man asked as he stood up to shake her hand, eliciting a gasp from Elizabeth. Wes merely facepalmed, before shooting his sister a side-eyed glance. This is exactly what he was worried would happen.

"Clearly not, otherwise he'd be here as well and they wouldn't have attempted to sneak into the National Library," Riza said, standing next to her husband with a wry smile.

"Well, I.." the Elric girl began, a little surprised at the transparency of the situation. Reed looked back and forth between his parents and the two teens, a smug look on his face.

"You'll have to tell us what you're doing here over dinner tonight," Roy stated, his dark eyes flickering to meet Riza's. "So I can determine whether or not it's necessary to put a call in for your father to come get you."

"Scarlett, you don't mind sharing your room with Elizabeth, do you?" Riza asked, looking to the twelve year old girl who remained on the floor. She had light brown hair, dark eyes, and an uninterested expression as she gazed at the pair of interlopers, but shrugged in response to her mother's question.

"I suppose not."

Reed looked to his parents, flabbergasted. The smarmy look Elizabeth hated slid off his face. "Are you seriously going to have them stay with us?!"  
"Oh Reed, calm down," Roy said, clapping a hand on his son's head. "They're sort of family friends. Besides, why make these two waste all their pocket change on a hotel."

Elizabeth’s stomach flopped. This would either go really well or really poorly.

Jade finished running the brush borrowed from Amina through Opal's hair, and began to braid it for bed. Scar had suggested at dinner that the twins stay with the girl for the night, so that they could have time to figure out what to do in the interim. The older girl was very kind, offering her bed and letting them bathe, as they were not used to all the sand. Her sister was still sniffling about the situation, scared about being separated from their parents.

"Hey, Opal. Remember when Mom was 12 and she crossed the desert all the way from Xing so she could try to find the Philosopher's Stone? She was all by herself, except for Xiao Mei, and Scar helped her. Then she met Dad." Jade was trying to be reassuring, and she hoped it would work. Her sister was very sensitive.

Opal nodded, the braid complete, before turning to help Jade with her hair. It was a nightly routine for the twins, and sometimes they even helped each other in the morning. Both had inherited their mother's thick and pretty dark hair, and they loved to play with anyone’s hair, sometimes even practicing on Wesley.

"Yeah, she said that Dad was trying to find her because he thought alkahestry could help them against that bad guy," Opal responded after a moment of thought and a sniffle or two.

"Yep, and she spent almost all her time here travelling with this Scar guy. I think we can trust him, so you don't have to be so scared ok?" Jade said in a reassuring tone, but keeping herself perfectly still as Opal did her hair.

"You can definitely trust Leader," Amina spoke, entering the room with some blankets and giving the girls a smile. "I'm an orphan, but Leader always made sure I was taken care of. He's like the father I've never had."

"Really?" Opal asked, her gold eyes meeting Amina's crimson ones. She nodded, sitting on the bed with the twins.

"He cares for everyone in Ishval, and if he knew your parents, that's more reason for you to trust him, I think," Amina assured. “He seemed to recognize you right away, he must have known them pretty well.”

"We'll have to thank him in the morning, Opal," Jade said, exchanging a look with her sister. "Thank you for letting us stay with you, Amina. We really appreciate it."

"Oh it's no problem, our elders say it is important to be kind. Now, I want you guys to sleep in here, ok? I'll be on a futon in the next room if you need anything, and tomorrow Leader may have figured out how to get you home."

The girls nodded wearily, and laid down, too exhausted to rekindle their earlier protest of Amina giving up her bed. Jade fell asleep quickly, and Opal soon did as well, clasping her sister's hand for comfort.

"You WHAT?!"

Alphonse held the phone away from his ear, and exchanged a weary look with Mei, standing next to him on the dark train platform.

"Winry didn't take it well, I'm guessing?" Mei asked quietly, shifting a sleepy Henry in her arms. He was pretty heavy.

"Actually, it's Ed," her husband replied, referring to the ongoing shouting coming from the telephone receiver before hesitantly putting his ear back up to the receiver. "Brother, listen, I don't know where they are, all I know is that one by one they seemed to slip away and now our kids are nowhere to be found. We need a plan to try to find them before it's too late."

"Ugh, I'll get on the first train to East City, and I recommend you do the same," came Ed's voice into the receiver, a little hoarse from the shouting. "But who knows where they could be at this point?!"

"Alright, we can do that," Al said, relieved a plan was beginning to develop. “I just hope they’re ok.”

“Yeah I hope they’re ok alright, so I can kick their butts into next week and ground them forever,” Ed snarled. “Ugh, how am I going to explain this to Winry?”

“....I’m sorry, Ed,” Alphonse said, voice full of guilt.

“I want to say I’ll kick your butt into next week as well, but knowing those kids, especially El, they probably intentionally pulled the wool over your eyes. Were we this big of a pain in the ass?”  
“I’d say that you definitely were at the very least. She comes by it honestly.”

"I really don't think you're in a position to be giving me snark, Alphonse!"

With a sigh, Al wrapped up the conversation with his older brother, knowing his anger was merely masking his concern for the children. Waiting for a new train, the couple sat on a bench, awake with deep worry for their daughters, their son asleep in their arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is short...
> 
> Jeez, why did I make Reed such a shitlord? Pahaha.
> 
> Original version fun facts:  
> -They didn't know Elicia. In hindsight I find that more unbelievable than them not knowing Reed, as Winry was pretty close with the Hughes'.  
> -Roy said "And then I said "How about I just incinerate you all?"" when they walked into the office, but I thought that was a little needlessly violent, and I wanted to set something else up instead.


End file.
